Methods and Apparatus for Accessing Data from a Primary Data Storage System for Secondary Storage

1. A system for providing secondary data storage and recovery services for one or more networked host nodes comprising: at least one hardware processor; a first data storage medium for primary data backup; a second data storage medium for secondary data storage of the backup data; a server application for facilitating data backup and recovery services including a component for comparing new data writes at a time of the new data write read from the first data storage medium against old write data previously read from the first data storage medium and stored on the second data storage medium, the comparison to determine whether the new data is valid change data or whether the new data is redundant data, the redundant data being one of a same data and a same incremental data from one of a host node and the host node and another host node of the one or more networked host nodes, and the valid change data read from the first data storage medium being configured to be solely stored at the second data storage medium, wherein the comparison is made against a compression weight of a payload portion of the compared writes to save a storage space and to facilitate a data recovery; at least one client application for continuously duplicating data write activity by the one or more networked host nodes to the first data storage medium to a transactional log volume based on the time of the new data write to provide a revision selectable recovery, wherein the transactional log volume has a logical unit number identifier and the transactional log is shared by a plurality of networked host nodes, each of the host nodes assigned a sub logical unit number identifier for transactional integrity within the log volume, wherein each of the one or more networked host nodes has a separate transactional log volume with the logical unit number identifier; a bit flagging system to enable data write, data read, and data clear operations performed on the transactional log volume; and at least one machine instruction enabling direct data read and data clear operations to be performed on the transactional log volume by the server application of a remote node to backup write data from the transactional log volume to the second data storage medium, wherein the at least one machine instruction for enabling direct read capability includes the write location mapping results between the first data storage medium and a logical view thereof maintained at the one or more networked host nodes, wherein the machine instruction references an actual offset location in the first data storage medium where an original write is located, wherein the remote node is external from and connected to a host node.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the one or more networked host nodes is connected to a local area network (LAN).

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the one or more networked host nodes includes server nodes.

4. The system of claim 1 implemented in conjunction with a storage area network (SAN) accessible through a Fibre Channel network.

5. The system of claim 1 implemented in conjunction with a SAN accessible through an Ethernet network.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the logical view is a file system view of the first data storage medium.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the client application includes a filter for monitoring activity of the one or more networked host nodes for data write activity.

8. The system of claim 1 further including a tape drive system for long term backup of data.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the server application is stored and configured to execute from a node remote to the LAN network supporting the one or more networked host nodes.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the transactional log volume is hosted at a system providing the first data storage medium and wherein the transactional log volume is implemented as a logical unit number device.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the transactional log volume is hosted at a system providing the second data storage medium and wherein the transactional log volume is implemented as a virtual logical unit number device in flash memory.